Biggest Winners, Losers From NFL Week 7

Winner: Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns

Over the last few years, there has been some debate about who the best pass rusher in the NFL is. T.J. Watt won the Defensive Player of the Year Award for the 2021 season and Nick Bosa took the award home in 2022. Micah Parsons is undoubtedly in the argument after finishing second in back-to-back years. But the best pure pass rusher in the NFL resides in Cleveland. And he proved that again in Week 7. 

With the offense struggling on the road, Myles Garrett took over Sunday’s game for the Cleveland Browns. In the first half alone, he had a strip sack that gave Cleveland great field position, ultimately leading to a touchdown. Then, he had a blocked field goal that Cleveland returned deep into Indianapolis Colts‘ territory. 

Right before halftime, Garrett had a strip sack the Browns recovered in the end zone for a touchdown. He beat a tight end and a tackle around the edge for a game-changing play. It was one of the best rushes from a defender all year.

He was an absolute terror who helped Cleveland stay in the game after a dreadful first-half performance by their offense. Even in the second half, Garrett made an impact. On the first drive out of halftime, Garrett deflected a pass at the line of scrimmage on third-and-8 to get the Browns off the field.

Cleveland won a shootout 39-38, but Garrett’s splash plays helped keep the Browns in the game. Garrett has 7.5 sacks on the season, which is near the top of the NFL. But make no mistake about it — he is the best defensive player in the NFL and has been for some time.

Loser: Buffalo Bills

Coming off an ugly win over the New York Giants (at home) in Week 6, you would expect the Buffalo Bills to bounce back and play better in Week 7. Instead, they dropped a game to the New England Patriots after being 8.5-point favorites. The offense has its moments, but it’s still a unit that is too inconsistent. 

Josh Allen averaged just 6.5 yards per attempt after he averaged 5.6 yards per attempt against the Giants. Allen has also thrown an interception in five of the team’s seven games and has seven overall. The offense is supposed to be the calling card for Buffalo, but it has failed to score 25 or more points in five of seven games. 

It also doesn’t help that the defense isn’t quite as dominant as usual. Allowing the Patriots to score 29 points is brutal, especially considering the Bills surrendered 21 first downs. New England’s offense made a play whenever they needed it and Buffalo is starting to feel the losses of LB Matt Milano and CB Tre’Davius White. 

Buffalo sits at 4-3 and several playoff opponents remain on the schedule. Could this be the season that someone overtakes the Bills in the AFC East? The Bills look vulnerable after the first two months of the season, and the rest of the division has certainly taken notice.

Winner: Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens are 5-2, but they’ve been a team that’s hard to trust. They scored just 10 points against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and their Week 3 loss to the Colts is still one of the most puzzling of the season. But Baltimore took care of business in Week 7 against its most formidable opponent yet: the Detroit Lions.

The Lions were a trendy upset pick all week, coming into the NFL with a record of 5-1. The Lions had the No. 4 scoring offense in the NFL combined with a top-10 defense. But this wasn’t even a contest, thanks to Lamar Jackson. 

Jackson had an MVP-type performance in Week 7, leading the Ravens to 35 points on offense. He finished the game with 393 yards of offense and four touchdowns. The Ravens scored touchdowns on their first four drives and put this game out of reach by 2:30 p.m. ET. The Lions had no answer for him, and he is 16-1 in his career against NFC opponents. This showing put Jackson firmly in the MVP discussion and the Ravens in contention for the AFC’s No. 1 seed.

Loser: Jared Goff, Detroit Lions

After a nice win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jared Goff started getting national attention for being the best quarterback in the NFC. Looking at the numbers, it’s hard to disagree. The Detroit Lions had one of the NFL’s best offenses through six games.

But for us to view the Lions as a serious NFC contender, they needed to show that they can win on the road against a quality opponent. Specifically, they needed Goff to prove that he could win on the road. Unfortunately, that did not happen in Week 7. 

The Lions managed to score just six points. Their only score was on a run by Jahmyr Gibbs late in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach. Goff was sacked five times and averaged just 5.4 yards per attempt. The offense never had a chance to succeed, and it was clear that Goff wasn’t going to bail them out of any bad situations. 

If things are going well, Goff can be an outstanding quarterback. But when the Lions need him to get them out of bad situations, that is when the problems arise. Detroit is far and away the best team in the NFC North. But this game certainly isn’t going to build any confidence that the Lions can challenge the San Francisco 49ers or the Philadelphia Eagles atop the NFC.

Loser: Josh McDaniels, Las Vegas Raiders

Josh McDaniels has been the coach of the Las Vegas Raiders for only 24 games. But in those 24 games, there have been some hideous losses. Last season, the Raiders lost to Jeff Saturday and the Colts in his first game as the interim coach (the Colts didn’t win another game under Saturday). The Raiders lost to Baker Mayfield and the Los Angeles Rams after Mayfield joined the team just hours before kickoff. Mayfield drove the Rams 98 yards for the winning touchdown late in the fourth quarter in one of the most embarrassing defensive efforts in the last several years.

But Sunday’s loss might be the worst of his young career with the Raiders. Going up against an undrafted free-agent quarterback making his first start, the Raiders allowed the Chicago Bears to score 30 points while recording more than 300 yards of offense. Meanwhile, the Raiders chose veteran QB Brian Hoyer to replace the injured Jimmy Garoppolo, citing his experience. 

McDaniels hoped Hoyer could play a “clean” game, so they opted for him over rookie Aidan O’Connell. But Hoyer could not deliver that. Not only did he throw two interceptions (one was a pick-six), but he completed just 50 percent of his passes for 129 yards. The offense scored six points with him on the field. McDaniels couldn’t get that unit going. 

McDaniels had another coaching blunder, opting to kick a field goal late in the fourth quarter down 21-3. The Raiders had fourth-and-goal from the 6-yard-line but opted for the field goal to cut the score down to 15. The hope was that the defense could get a stop and give the Raiders’ offense a chance. Instead, the Bears consumed nearly seven minutes on their next drive, kicking a field goal to put the game away. It was another late-game mistake by McDaniels that has decreased their odds of winning a game. 

The Raiders have yet to score more than 19 points on offense in any game this season. The Raiders have had to deal with injuries to Garoppolo, but McDaniels has been outcoached every step of the way. Sitting at 3-4, the Raiders feel lost, and it doesn’t appear they have their long-term answer coaching on the sideline.

Marcus Mosher is an NFL writer with a decade of experience in podcasting and writing for various NFL websites, including Bleacher Report, Pro Football Focus and The Athletic. He’s currently a managing editor at USA Today Sports Media Group and host of the Locked On Cowboys Podcast. Marcus has been working full-time covering the NFL since 2015 and works as a betting expert for Gambling.com. You can follow him at @Marcus_Mosher.